EA to acquire freemium mobile developer Bight Games

EA has snapped up another casual gaming company, this time acquiring NBA Jam and Fleeced! Shear Terror developer Bight Games.

Newly-incumbent EA Interactive boss and former EA Mobile leader Barry Cottle announced the news via EA's blog.

"Bight is a proven player in the development of iOS games, with a particularly strong track record developing games offered to consumers under the freemium model," the executive wrote.

"The freemium game model in mobile is here to stay, and it’s growing fast. The Bight team will help us to bring more freemium games to our chart-topping lineup of mobile titles this year."

Cottle acknowledged Bight's development role on past EA Mobile releases, and gave a nod to Trade Nations, one of the best grossing iOS games, recently ported to Facebook.

The acquisition will be completed later this month, after which the Prince Edward Island-based development team will join EA Interactive's Canadian mobile development.

Bight joins PopCap and PlayFish among EA's recent high-profile forays into non-traditional platforms.

Thanks, VentureBeat.